US drug package to help Mexico find fake passports

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Mexico has a new specialized laboratory to detect fake immigration documents thanks to a U.S. anti-drug aid package.

The laboratory inside the offices of Mexico's National Migration Institute in Mexico City is the first of 60 that also will include photo and fingerprint databases.

Immigration Commissioner Cecilia Romero and U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza announced the lab on Wednesday. It will be paid for with a portion of the $1.3 billion U.S. anti-drug package known as the Merida Initiative.

The U.S. on Dec. 3 released $197 million of the funds, which are to be distributed in Mexico over the next three years.